As the UK looks ahead to a major change in the concept of ‘end of life’, the insurance industry has about two and a half years to prepare itself. Eleos, a fully digital provider of life insurance, considers what that means:
On 29 November 2024 the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 330 votes to 275. It then passed to the committee stage, after which it returns to the Commons in April where it will have its third reading before passing to the House of Lords. Once both Houses have agreed on its provisions it will receive Royal Assent and pass into law. There will then be a two-year implementation period before the law comes into effect, probably by early 2028.
The bill applies only to residents of England and Wales. It gives a right to ask for help in ending their lives to people who are at least 18 years old and:
- Are terminally ill, with six months or less to live, according to professional diagnosis
- Have full mental capacity
- Have shown ‘a clear, settled and informed wish to end their own life’
- Have not been pressured or coerced into their decision.
The procedure will consist of:
- Assessments by two independent doctors
- High Court approval
- A 14-day reflection period (2 days if death is imminent)
- Self-administration of a prescribed lethal drug
What are the obstacles for insurance providers?
There are a number of important issues that will need to be overcome by insurers to avoid disputes, challenges and regulatory clashes:
1. Current treatment of suicide in life insurance
Most UK life insurance policies exclude claims for death by suicide within the first 12-24 months of taking out the policy. After that period policies will pay out.
Leading reinsurer SCOR recommends that assisted dying should be subject to the same ‘sui